Tag Archives: FDA Requirements

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently made a lot of different changes to the nutrition facts labels that are placed onto packaged food items.

The FDA is now requiring the addition of “added sugars” on label on all foods which will likely be confusing to customers.

There are many packaged foods that have sugars added to them, and the FDA wants to remind people that “it is difficult to meet nutrient needs while staying within calorie limits if you consume more than 10 percent of your total daily calories from added sugar.” So they have gone ahead and required food manufacturers to list any sugars that have been added to foods and beverages.

In theory, pointing out the added sugars in packaged foods isn’t the worst idea in the world. But there are many food manufacturers who have taken issue with it because the FDA has made it seem as though all “added sugars” are bad. This isn’t actually true, and the FDA itself admits that “added sugars can be a part of a healthy dietary pattern.” People can run into issues if they consume too many added sugars, but there are times when sugars are added to certain types of foods to make them more palatable. Cranberries, for example, contain added sugars that make them taste better to people. But you might get the impression that the added sugars are bad for you if you simply follow the FDA’s new guidelines without doing any additional research on your own.

There are also some concerns about what constitutes an “added sugar.” The FDA has tried to limit any confusion about it by defining added sugars as “sugars that are either added during the processing of foods, or are packaged as such, and include sugars, sugars from syrups and honey, and sugars from concentrated fruit or vegetable juices that are in excess of what would be expected from the same volume of 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice of the same type.” But obviously, this definition is far from crystal clear and could end up confusing many consumers who aren’t sure whether or not the added sugars in the food they are buying are good or bad. So food processors are struggling with this change to nutritional labels and hope it doesn’t end up hurting people more than helping them.

At Honey Solutions, we are keeping a close eye on the situation with the new FDA labels and hope to do what we can to clear up any confusion about honey being an “added sugar.” In the meantime, we plan to continue to provide food processors with the honey they need to create excellent products. Call us at 281-576-1700 today to find out how we can help your company get the honey you need.